Attorney
General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that charges were
filed in Howard County Circuit Court against David Martin Smith,
49, of 2142 Riding Crop Way, Baltimore County, as contained in a
three-count criminal information. Smith is charged with two counts
of Possession of a Machine Gun for Aggressive Purpose, and one count
of Illegal Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun. It is alleged
that Smith illegally possessed these weapons on November 29, 2001
in Howard County.

The
charges were filed as a result of Attorney General Currans
illegal gun prosecution initiative, Operation Crime Gun.

Smith
is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The maximum penalty for a conviction for Possession of a Machine
Gun for Aggressive Purpose is 10 years incarceration, and the maximum
penalty for possessing a short-barreled shotgun is five years incarceration
and a $5,000 fine.

This case was investigated by Baltimore Countys Firearms Violence
Team, and will be prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General,
Special Crimes Unit, Criminal Investigations Division. Funding for
Operation Crime Gun comes from a grant received from the Governors
Office on Crime Control and Prevention.